After countless angry political speeches and the threat of economic collapse, the government%u2019s $700 billion bailout of banks, insurance companies and auto companies draws to a close Sunday - and it will likely cost only a fraction of what was expected.
It will be years before it is possible to produce exact figures related to the bailout, which encompassed everything from mortgage finance colossuses Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to auto company General Motors.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner attacked the Bush administration%u2019s policies as "misguided," saying that renewing the Bush tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans would worsen the budget deficit.
Extending the cuts would force the government to borrow more and impede more effective measures to stimulate economic growth, Reuters reported.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans should be allowed to expire this year in order to narrow the federal government%u2019s deficit.
Speaking on two TV programs Sunday, Geithner said letting the tax cuts for those making $250,000 a year or more expire would demonstrate the country%u2019s commitment to controlling the deficit, The New York Times reported. He said that the tax increase would not affect economic growth.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Congress should let the Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of this year in order to boost revenue and narrow the federal deficit.
"They should follow the law and let them lapse," Greenspan said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.